Jamie Oliver’s cheese puffs are golden choux-style balls made with Parmesan and Lincolnshire Poacher or Cheddar, plus a little semolina in the dough. The batch makes 24 to serve 8, from his book Together (2021).
They’re Jamie’s take on the first canapé he ever tried, at 13, on work experience at The Starr in Dunmow. The restaurant started every meal with a drink and something salty to nibble, a pairing he still calls “the perfect combo”.
The dough is the technique. You beat flour and semolina into boiling butter and water until it pulls away from the pan, then add eggs one at a time. Chilling it for 2 hours makes it firm enough to roll into neat, shiny balls.
Jamie Oliver Cheese Puffs
Course: Sides, Breakfast, Brunch, SnacksCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy8
servings25
minutes20
minutes220
kcal2
hours45
minutesJamie’s make-ahead party canapé from Together: cheesy, semolina-enriched choux balls that bake golden in 20 minutes, or straight from the freezer in 35.
Ingredients
50g Parmesan cheese
100g Lincolnshire Poacher or Cheddar cheese
50g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
50g fine semolina
3 large free-range eggs
Directions
- Grate and boil: Finely grate all the cheese. Put the butter in a medium pan on a medium heat with 250ml of cold water. As soon as it comes to a rolling boil, tip in the flour, semolina and a pinch of sea salt.
- Beat the dough: With a wooden spoon, work carefully, quickly and fairly vigorously to beat it together until smooth and starting to come away from the sides of the pan.
- Add eggs and cheese: Remove from the heat and beat for 30 seconds. Then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the grated cheese.
- Chill and roll: Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. With wet hands, divide the mixture into 24 pieces and roll into shiny balls, lining them up on the tray as you go.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until golden. Enjoy warm with a glass of something cold and sparkling.
Notes
- (get ahead): To make these the day before, follow the recipe to the end of the rolling step, cover and refrigerate overnight, then bake as usual the next day.
- (freezer): Jamie says these are fantastic cooked from frozen. Simply bake for 35 minutes at 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
- (sunny gathering): Jamie serves these with tender asparagus, stuffed salmon, potato salad, roasted tomatoes, tasty greens and a Wimbledon summer pudding.
- 2 hours chilling (ours)
FAQs
Are these the same as French gougères?
They’re close cousins. Gougères are French cheese puffs made from choux pastry, and Jamie’s dough uses the same boil, beat and add-eggs method.
Two things set his apart. The semolina adds a little extra body to the dough, and instead of piping it straight away, he chills it and rolls it by hand. That makes them easier for a home cook and perfect for prepping ahead.
Why beat the dough off the heat before adding the eggs?
Jamie takes the pan off the heat and beats for 30 seconds before the eggs go in. Our reading is that this lets the dough cool slightly, so the eggs blend in smoothly instead of starting to cook.
Adding them one at a time matters too. Each egg needs to be fully beaten in before the next, otherwise the dough can turn slippery and refuse to come back together.
Why roll the balls with wet hands?
The chilled dough is still sticky, and wet hands stop it clinging to your palms. It also gives each ball the smooth, shiny surface Jamie describes, which helps them bake evenly golden.
Our tip: keep a small bowl of water beside you and dip your hands every few balls. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces first, so every puff is the same size and they all cook in the same 20 minutes.
How do I freeze them?
Jamie confirms they bake beautifully straight from frozen at 200°C for 35 minutes. He doesn’t say how to freeze them, so this is our suggestion: freeze the rolled, raw balls on the lined tray until solid, then pack them into a bag.
That way they don’t stick together, and you can bake as many or as few as you need. It makes them a brilliant standby canapé for unexpected guests.
Are they vegetarian?
Not necessarily. Traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet, which is likely why jamieoliver.com doesn’t tag these as vegetarian.
Lincolnshire Poacher is a hard, Cheddar-style cows’ milk cheese from Lincolnshire, and Cheddar is a fine swap, as Jamie says. Our advice: if you’re cooking for vegetarians, check the labels and choose a vegetarian hard cheese for both.
What should I serve them with?
Jamie says to enjoy them warm with a glass of something cold and sparkling. A bubbly aperitivo like Nigella’s negroni sbagliato is a perfect match for their salty richness.
For a bigger canapé spread, add Nigella’s devilled eggs and Jamie’s honey-drizzled feta filo turnovers. There are more ideas on the Jamie Oliver recipes page.
